Woman and teenager accused of stealing purse after getting help from Lake Orion church

Oakland County Sheriff's deputies are investigating the theft of a purse from a Lake Orion church, after two women allegedly asked for financial help from the parish.

Churchgoers were gathered Sunday for a potluck dinner at the Lake Orion Church of Christ on Clarkston and Hemingway Roads, when a woman came into the church crying with her alleged teenage daughter.

According to the victim's husband, individuals from the potluck asked the woman what was the matter. She said she came from Tennessee to get her daughter out of foster care.

Advertisement

The woman said she didn't have money to get back home and she wondered if anyone could help her out with gas money.

The church gave her a $100 gas card, and offered her and her daughter food from the dinner.

The victim said the duo did not want anything to drink, or eat and reported that the daughter was "antsy" about wanting to leave.

In the church, there were ledges near some windows where purses were being kept.

After the dinner concluded, the victim went to retrieve her purse, and could not find it.

The couple checked their bank statement as soon as they realized the purse was missing and found charges from Kmart and Meijer. The Meijer charge was for $225. The card was canceled and denied at a local Target.

The purse contained a drivers license, insurance cards, bank and credit cards and $40 cash, as well as a photograph of the couple's deceased daughter -- among other personal items that are more difficult to replace.

"How low can you get -- going to church and steal? I think all churches should be warned about it. I don't know how many others they'd try to pull the same act," the victim's husband said.

He believes that from now on, it is going to be more difficult for those who need financial help to get it.

The woman is described as being in her early 40s and the girl is in her late-teens with bright red hair.

The Oakland County Sheriff's office could not comment on the case, but they say no other similar cases have been reported.

Anyone with information should call the Oakland County Sheriff's office Orion Township Substation at 248-393-0090.